MEET OUR MODERATORS

Abendan, Richard S., Ph.D.

Chief of Party, STRIDE Program, RTI International, Philippines

Richard is with RTI International, a nonprofit research and technical services company headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA. He is currently the Chief of Party of the STRIDE (Science, Technology, Research and Innovation for Development) Program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). STRIDE is currently working with the Philippine government, higher education institutions, and industry stakeholders to enable innovation-driven economic growth.

He was an adjunct professor of Chemistry at Ateneo de Manila University. Prior to this he was a Pharmaceutical Development Scientist with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in North Carolina; serving on various pharmaceutical product teams.

Richard has a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Georgetown University in Washington DC, and has authored peer-reviewed scientific papers and presentations. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at the Ateneo de Manila University.